


weakness

by mustloveshera (mustlovelance)



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, F/F, ambiguous death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-14 04:04:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16905765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mustlovelance/pseuds/mustloveshera
Summary: Catra has won, but she's never felt more powerless.





	weakness

**Author's Note:**

> Based on [this](https://mustloveshera.tumblr.com/post/180307162605/hey-heres-a-horrible-thought-so-catra-let-adora) idea that I wrote earlier.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> **Please check the end notes for details about one potential trigger that doesn't exactly meet the criteria but may be upsetting!**

Adora is gone.

 

There’s a moment of absolute silence on the battlefield, when everyone seems to be staring where She-Ra once stood.

 

Laughter bubbles out of Catra’s mouth, light and easy, but when she swallows, she can only taste bile.

 

\--

 

_“Yuck.  I think the worst part of being sick is this gross taste in my mouth.”_

 

_“If you take the medicine, you’ll feel better.”_

 

 _“Nope, not happening! That stuff tastes even_ worse _! I’ll be fine!”_

 

_“Catra, just drink it!”_

 

_“No!”_

 

 _“Bleh. Look, see,_ I _drank it!”_

 

_“But you’re not—”_

 

_“So, are you saying you’re not as tough as I am?”_

 

_“As if! Give it to me.”_

 

\--

 

From what sounds like a million miles away, Catra hears voices cry out. She doesn’t look to where they’re coming from. She just keeps laughing as the battle rages around her—lasers and cannons and explosions and shouts.

 

“Wow, so much for beating me, huh, Princess of Power?” Catra asks, advancing towards the pile of ash. “Can’t do much like this. I guess I win.”

 

She startles when she feels a weight on her shoulder. So much of her life has been spent living in fear, and even now, she can’t help but panic at the unexpected contact. She whips around, finding herself staring at Lonnie.

 

“Well, I guess—that’s that, right?” Lonnie asks, lips curled into a smirk. “They won’t put up much of a fight now. And your promotion is in the bag.” But everything is wrong. Her voice is wrong, too high-pitched and uneven. Her smile is wrong. The way she’s trying to keep her hands steady is wrong. It’s all wrong. Wrong wrong wrong.

 

Catra stares at her, blinking furiously when her vision gets blurry. Lonnie pulls away, her smile crumbling. When Catra tries to look at Adora—at the pile of ashes—she can barely make out anything. Her face feels wet.

 

\--

 

 _“I wonder what I could’ve been if I’d gotten rid of you sooner.”_  

 

\--

 

Ashes. That’s it?

 

Catra’s knees buckle. As soon as she hits the ground, she clenches her fists, letting her claws pierce her skin. She can’t feel the sharp pain she’d been hoping for—the only thing she can feel is this horrible taste in her mouth that she can’t get rid of no matter how many times she swallows. It takes a few moments before she registers the feeling of blood sliding down her palms onto the ground.

 

“Catra! Are you okay?” Catra doesn’t even need to look, doesn’t want to, but she can hear Scorpia shuffling around beside her. “Catra—”

 

\--

 

_“Bye, Adora! I really am going to—_

 

_I didn’t want you to—_

 

_I really am going to—_

 

_Come back—_

 

_Miss you—”_

 

\--

 

“Nononononono _no_ —" Catra can’t say it enough times. “No—!”

 

Nothing changes. There’s still just a pile of ash in front of her. That’s all that’s left. Catra is so strong now and nothing she does now will make any difference and she hates it more than she’s ever hated _anything_.

 

“Catra, we need to get out of here. This isn’t a safe—”

 

“No!” Catra _shrieks_ , crawling forward to scoop up the ashes into her trembling hands. The blood seeps into the ashes and drips down onto the ground.

 

How can this be all that’s left? Adora is—Adora was—

 

\--

 

_“Are you ever going to let it go? That was one time!”_

 

_“I know, but it’s always funny!”_

 

\--

 

Catra screams, tears streaming down her face, as Scorpia hauls her up and carries her away. She doesn’t unclench her fists, trying to keep the ashes from slipping out, but they’re running too fast, and by the time they’re out of sight of the battle, the only thing that’s left in her hands is her own blood.

 

**Author's Note:**

> TW: self-harm. The usual intent isn't there, but the literal act is, so I figured I'd mention it. 
> 
> Two things:
> 
> 1\. This was written as a one-shot. That may change later, but that's my current plan.  
> 2\. My intent for this is that Catra witnessed a fakeout death, not a real one. However, Death of the Author and all that jazz, so I included the "Major Character Death" warning and added the "Ambiguous Death" tag.
> 
> Tumblr post: [on my mustloveshera blog](https://mustloveshera.tumblr.com/post/180971712275/title-weakness-series-she-ra-and-the-princesses)


End file.
